As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
As processors, graphics cards, random access memory (RAM) and other components in information handling systems have increased in clock speed and power consumption, the amount of heat produced by such components as a side-effect of normal operation has also increased. Often, the temperatures of these components need to be kept within a reasonable range to prevent overheating, instability, malfunction and damage leading to a shortened component lifespan. Accordingly, to control temperature of components of an information handling system, heat-generating components are often thermally coupled to heatsinks such that air may be directed over the heatsinks to dissipate such heat, and minimize component temperatures.
Historically, processors have been clamped into processor sockets via independent loading mechanisms. In such arrangements, a heatsink with thermal interface material applied is mounted to an integrated heat spreader of a processor via a spring-loaded attachment to the independent loading mechanism. Such spring loading serves to clamp the thermal interface material between the heatsink and the processor's heat spreader. Over time, a mechanical bond is created via the thermal interface material. Accordingly, if the processor needs to be mechanically decoupled to the heatsink, the spring-loading clamping load is removed and an individual may twist the heat sink relative to the processor to remove it.
However, new industry standards may provide that processors are retained by mechanisms other than independent loading mechanisms. Instead, a processor may be coupled to a heatsink (with thermal interface material applied) via an interface bracket, which may also be referred to as a processor clip. To break the thermal interface bond in this arrangement, a processor must be pried off without twisting (e.g., by a force perpendicular to a surface of the processor heat spreader), due to mechanical constraints of the interface bracket. Such a removal process, if performed manually by a user, may leave the processor susceptible to damage.